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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26597587">'Tis but a scratch</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreitzbachBea/pseuds/Resterampe'>Resterampe (BreitzbachBea)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hetalia: Axis Powers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Human, But I've been learning Italian for three years and imma make that everyone else's problem, Comedy, Cuddling, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Foreign Language, Gentle Kissing, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Minor Injuries, Minor Original Character(s), Nothing happens but it is definitely alluded to that Antonio would like some more "lip service", Vitriolic Besties, Yes I am sorry about that, by that I mean the foreign languages ao3 won't show my tags in a way that it makes sense sorry, well Antonio is the bestie and Diego is vitriolic lmao</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:20:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,680</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26597587</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreitzbachBea/pseuds/Resterampe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Right before Lovino arrives in Spain, Antonio got into a <em>physical misunderstanding</em>, which left him <em>terribly wounded.</em> Lovino prepares himself to begrudgingly spoil his melodramatic boyfriend for the next days. </p><p>[Set in my Human/Organized Crime AU 'Like Father Like Son.']</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>South Italy/Spain (Hetalia)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Antonio's Lament</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrispyLiza/gifts">CrispyLiza</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This work was originally written as askbox drabbles for CrispyLiza on tumblr! I've decided to expand on the drabbles to properly tell a story without the limits of tumblr's askbox. There are seven drabbles in total which I'll upload throughout the next weeks! (I'm still rewriting them so thank you in advance for your patience.)</p><p>And as much as I would love to introduce the minor OCs properly, neither you nor I are here for OCs. We're here for Spamano. So here's the bare minimum to avoid confusion:</p><p><b>Diego</b> and <b>Salomé</b> are Antonio's right hands and friends.<br/><b>Fabio</b> and <b>Gabriella </b> are Lovino's right hands and friends. <strike>And they're honestly a Team Dad and Team Mom to Lovino's chaotic ass</strike></p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lovino and his friends leave for and arrive in Spain.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Translation for Spanish and Italian bits at the end! It's welcome if you point out spelling, grammatical or formatting errors! If you like this work, leave kudos and/or a comment and/or share it! Have a nice day and enjoy the read!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Antonio’s call reached Lovino while he was brushing his teeth.</p><p>With his eyebrows furrowed both in confusion and annoyance, he stared at the screen and turned off his electric toothbrush.</p><p>“Pronto?” he asked and spat out toothpaste.</p><p>“¡Lovino, mi amor! ¡Buenos dias! You’re at the airport yet?” Antonio asked.</p><p>“No I’m not, have you looked at the time?” Lovino asked back. “Why, what’s the matter?”</p><p>“Oh, oh it’s nothing, really!” Antonio said and laughed. “Nothing, nothing, really …”</p><p>Lovino rolled his eyes and grabbed his toothbrush again. “Well then – “</p><p>“It’s just that we’ve got into a …” Antonio sucked in air. “<em>Physical misunderstanding</em> this morning.” Lovino blinked before a deep frown settled onto his forehead. “Don’t worry, we’ll still get you! And nothing happened, well, almost nothing happened.” He sighed deeply and his tone dripped with thinly veiled self-pity as he continued. “Yours truly go injured but it’s nothing grave. Just so you know and aren’t shocked when I show up <em>wounded</em> at the airport.”</p><p>The tension left Lovino, his shoulders dropped and he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you poor thing, see you later, I gotta get ready, ciao.”</p><p>He heard Diego snort and say something in the background, but couldn’t discern what. “¡Hasta pronto! ¡Te quiero!”</p><p>“Sì, sì, ti voglio bene, ciao.”</p><p>After they had finally managed to hang up, Lovino turned the toothbrush back on.</p><p>“Oh, you’re going now, right?” Feliciano asked half an hour later when Lovino was going through his satchel one last time to make sure he had everything. “Tell Antonio and the rest I said Hi!”</p><p>“Huh?” Lovino jerked his head towards him. “Oh, yeah, sure.” He went back to rummaging in his bag.</p><p>“Do you want any coffee, Lovi?”</p><p>“Nuh-huh, Gabriella and Fabio should be here in a minute anyways, I’ll just get breakfast at the airport.”</p><p>Lovino didn’t look up from his bag. <em>Shit man, get your head together, it’s nothing. He’s fine if he can still get to the airport. </em></p><p>“Lovino?”</p><p>“What is it?!” He snapped at Feliciano.</p><p>“I think Fabio and Rella are outside.” Feliciano looked through the kitchen window.</p><p>“Oh. Oh, yeah, thank you,” Lovino said while he grabbed his case and Feliciano giggled to himself while he filled up the caffettiera with water.</p><p>“Have a fun day! Bye!” Feliciano called after him.</p><p>“Bye!” Lovino said from the hallway and hurried outside.</p><p>He hurried from the hallway into the car, they hurried from the parking lot into the airport and four hours later, Lovino hurried from the plane to the gate.</p><p>“Someone’s in a hurry to see someone else,” Gabriella commented.</p><p>“Or to get somewhere else, that’s what I need right now,” Fabio said and looked around.</p><p>“I just need to give my legs some exercise, I spent the entire morning sitting,” Lovino answered them.</p><p>“Lovino! Rella, Fabio! Over here!” Antonio’s voice cut threw the rest of the airport’s noise. He was waving his arms, one of them wrapped into a thin white gauze bandage. Diego stood next to him.</p><p>Lovino sighed and for the first time today, did not hurry as he made his way over to him. Antonio greeted him with a bright smile and a kiss before he pulled him into a hug.</p><p>Diego’s hugs were as curt as they were welcoming while Antonio hugged Fabio and Gabriella as if he wanted to squeeze his joy into them.</p><p>“I’ll need to find a restroom before we leave,” Fabio said once they were done greeting each other and headed for the exit.</p><p>“Oh yeah, sure thing, we can, uh,” Antonio said and looked around.</p><p>“We can wait right here, I think they sat for long enough,” Diego said and Lovino nodded.</p><p>“Good, see you in a minute,” Fabio said and walked off.</p><p>While they waited and chatted, Antonio’s hand looked for Lovino’s. It was the arm with the gauze.</p><p>Lovino intertwined their fingers. “How’s your wound?” he asked him.</p><p>Diego shook his head with his lips pressed together. “Wound – It’s just a scratch.”</p><p>“I think it needs some more kissing better,” Antonio said with a grin and turned his lower arm up, their fingers still intertwined.</p><p>Lovino snorted and gave his bandage a fleeting kiss. “I know it can’t be bad, with how much he cries for attention for it,” he told Diego. Diego nodded, Gabriella chuckled and Antonio pouted.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>There is no guarantee the Spanish in this is correct, since I don't speak the language. </p><p><em>"Pronto?"</em> - Common phrase to answer the phone in Italy. Literally translates to "Ready?"<br/><em>"¡Lovino, mi amor! ¡Buenos dias!"</em> - "Lovino, my love! Good Morning!"<br/><em>"¡Hasta pronto!"</em> - "See you later!"<br/><em>"¡Te quiero!" "Ti voglio bene"</em> - Casual "I love you." Both Spanish and Italian make a distinction between the heavily romantic "Te amo" and "Ti amo" and the more casual and platonic "Te quiero" and "Ti voglio bene".</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. As Fleeting As a Kiss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Back from the airport, lunch is almost ready. While Antonio's friends set the table and Lovino's settle down, he finds himself in Antonio's arms next to a bubbling paella.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's welcome if you point out spelling, grammatical or formatting errors! If you like this work, leave kudos and/or a comment and/or share it! Have a nice day and enjoy the read!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Are you hungry? I hope you’re hungry! I was making Paella for lunch!” Antonio said and looked over his shoulder as he opened the door to his house. The food smell hit Lovino right in the face as he stepped over the doorstep.</p><p>“You were – Did you just <em>leave</em> the stove <em>with the food on it</em> on?” Lovino asked.</p><p>“Yes Lovino, I’m stupid,” Antonio answered. “Of course I didn’t – “</p><p>“Hello there!” Salomé said. She peaked into the hallway from the kitchen. “Hello there Rella especially! How was the flight? Does anyone want wine? Because I was feeling dramatic, very gay and capable while cooking, so I opened a bottle of wine.”</p><p>Lovino stopped in his tracks, the confusion of the onslaught visible in his face, while a bright smile appeared on Antonio’s. “Salo, it smells great! Everything’s still alright?” He hurried past her into the kitchen and Salomé looked after him with a chuckle, her lips pressed together. “Well, my kitchen didn’t burn down and the paella looks great! Salomé, I am so proud of you!”</p><p>“Now, don’t be so surprised,” Salomé said and pushed herself away from the doorframe to disappear into the kitchen as well. “Despite acting as an agent of chaos, I’m not that much of a useless lesbian that I ruin paella. Besides, you <em>showed </em>me how to make paella, I’m doubting your mental capacities more than mine.”</p><p>“Sounds like lunch is almost ready,” Fabio said and picked his suitcase up again. “Let’s get our luggage stowed away.”</p><p>“Lovino, do you think it’s the same guestroom as always?” Gabriella asked him and he shook his head.</p><p>“Ah, I guess – “</p><p>“It is,” Diego called from the living room. The sound of a balcony door being opened followed.</p><p>When Gabriella and Fabio went to put away their luggage, Lovino thought he should probably do the same. He stopped when he passed the kitchen. Salomé sat on one of the counters, a bottle of wine in her hand while Antonio leant against another counter.</p><p>“Did you put any of the wine into the paella?” Antonio asked.</p><p>“No, should I have?” Salomé asked and took a swig from the bottle. “That was not part of the usual instructions you gave me and I wasn’t going to fuck it by getting <em>creative</em> and <em>spontaneous.</em> I just wanted to feel capable once.”</p><p>“And you’re very capable,” Antonio said with a warm smile. Salomé smiled back before she looked away, the smile still on her face.</p><p>“’Scuse me,” Diego said and gently pushed Lovino aside to get into the kitchen. “You could continue feeling helpful if you helped me get the table set.” He opened one of the cabinets and pulled out a stack of plates.</p><p>“Sure thing, you want a swig of wine before that?” Salomé asked. “Before I am the only one who’s more intoxicated than anyone else after lunch.”</p><p>Diego balanced the plates on one hand, took the bottle from her and drank straight from it in one swift motion. In an equally swift motion, he handed her the bottle back, gripped the plates and walked out of the kitchen.</p><p>Salomé put the wine on the counter and jumped off herself. “Do you want any by any chance, too?” She asked Lovino with a grin.</p><p>“Yeah Lovi, do you need anything?” Antonio asked and Lovino cringed.</p><p>“No, not really … but I guess I could help,” Lovino said and looked behind himself to park his suitcase and satchel somewhere it wouldn’t be in the way.</p><p>“I think there’s not much left to do,” Antonio said while Salomé rummaged around in the cutlery drawer. “The paella hasn’t stopped bubbling yet, so there’s still a little time.” He opened his arms. “Enough time to comfort your poor wounded soldier.”</p><p>Lovino took a deep breath while Salomé walked past him and out of the kitchen. “Antonio, it’s a scratch.”</p><p>Antonio shoved his lower lip forwards and furrowed his eyebrows. “But it’s so fresh, it still burns and itches. You better give my arms something else to do before I make it worse.”</p><p>Lovino sighed equally deep. “Maybe we should figure out how to give you one of these collars dogs have to wear, but for your hands,” he said but walked over to Antonio.</p><p>“You’re horrible,” Antonio said as he embraced Lovino, the two of them face to face.</p><p>“And you’re an idiot,” Lovino replied and turned around in his arms when Antonio leant in to kiss him. Antonio rested his head on Lovino’s shoulder and kissed him on the cheek.</p><p>Lovino looked down at Antonio’s arms. He wondered if he could caress the bandaged side. He thought it better to stroke the other arm with his thumb. Antonio’s dark brown hair was soft and the tanned skin underneath warm. The paella still bubbled while Lovino heard his even and relaxed breath next to his ear. Every exhale tickled his cheek. He could feel his chest rising and sinking against his back. Lovino slightly turned his head to rest his cheek against Antonio’s.</p><p>“Hey, maybe you could write your name on my bandage,” Antonio suddenly muttered and Lovino pulled away to give him an irritated look.</p><p>“It’s just a bandage not a cast, it’s going to come off tomorrow or so anyways, isn’t it?”</p><p>Salomé came back into the kitchen and Antonio turned to her. “Hey Salo, what do you think of the idea to collect signatures on my bandage?”</p><p>“Do you want my opinion on the concept itself or if I’d do it?” she asked.</p><p>“Latter!”</p><p>“A fleeting and insignificant testament to my existence as well as an overblown one of our relationship? I love that, I’ll do it.”</p><p>Antonio snickered while Lovino rolled his eyes and shook his head.</p><p>“We could also find some lipstick and you leave a kiss stain on it,” he told Lovino, who immediately frowned while his face burnt up. Antonio grinned while Salomé laughed.</p><p>“What?! Quit joking!”</p><p>“You think Gabriella brought some lipstick with her?” Salomé asked and gave him an impish grin.</p><p>He glared at her. “Stop being an enabler.”</p><p>“Lovino.” She picked up the wine bottle and held it out to him. “Enabling is what I do.”</p><p>Lovino continued to glare as he grabbed the bottle from her and put it to his lips. Antonio chuckled and kissed his neck while he took a gulp.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. (No More) Flattering</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A lazy afternoon is spent together, but by its end Lovino decides that spoiling has a limit.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Translation for the Italian bit at the end! It's welcome if you point out spelling, grammatical or formatting errors! If you like this work, leave kudos and/or a comment and/or share it! </p>
<p>If you want to bask a little more in the feeling of a mediterrenean late summer, do what I did while writing and listen to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3RcQ7zZ4_9C6s2T_zyZ2mK3YBBgfZJap">this</a>. Have a nice day and enjoy the read!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After they had had lunch on the terrace, the next hour or two had been spent very individually. Salomé had excused herself and gone to the city, both for business and personal reasons. Diego had gone inside and taken a nap on one of the couches, since he and Antonio had been up on their legs very early due to business reasons. Gabriella had settled down on the terrace with a book and Fabio had listened to something beside her. Sometimes, she had gently tugged at his sleeve so he’d take his earphones out and he’d listened to her tell her something she had just read about. At first, Lovino had listened too. At one point, he had found it an excellent idea to join Antonio, who also had taken to napping on the terrace. </p>
<p>It had been hot but the stiff breeze had made it bearable to cuddle up to one another. Lovino had buried his head against Antonio’s chest. The smell of faint sweat and Antonio’s cologne as well as a hint of the spices he’d been cooking with had made him lightheaded. Legs intertwined and Antonio’s arm around his back, it had been easy to fall asleep. Encased in such a comforting mutual warmth, he had dozed off. </p>
<p>The rest of the afternoon had been spent equally lazy; they had sat together in the garden with lemonade and sweets, until Diego and Salomé had decided to go for an evening run and Fabio and Gabriella had decided to join them. </p>
<p>“I think I’m going to stay here. Can call back home to see if there’s anything important,” Lovino had reasoned instead of simply saying that he couldn’t fathom anything he had wanted to do less at the moment than going for a jog. The sun had still been up. </p>
<p>“Then you can spoil me a little more, too,” Antonio had said, had wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close. </p>
<p>This is what had made Lovino join Fabio and Gabriella in their room to make his calls in peace while they changed. </p>
<p>“Okay, bye bye then Feliciano, love you,” Gabriella said with a smile while she rummaged through her bag. </p>
<p>She handed the phone back to Lovino. </p>
<p>“So yeah, we’re fine – yes I told the others that you said Hi – yes, you take care too, love you too, bye, yes, bye bye.” </p>
<p>Lovino hung up when Gabriella pulled a lipstick out of her bag. </p>
<p>“I think the colour would suit you,” she told him with a smirk. </p>
<p>Lovino rolled his eyes. “Stop it,” he said with a faint smile. “I still can’t believe you went along with his stupid idea.” </p>
<p>“Come on Lovino, it doesn’t hurt anyone. I think it’s kinda cute.” She put the lipstick back and continued to rummage around. </p>
<p>“And Gabriella’s right,” Fabio added after he had put on his T-Shirt. “It goes well with your hair and eyes.” </p>
<p>“Thank you, but as much as it flatters me, Antonio doesn’t need anymore doting and flattering,” Lovino said. </p>
<p>Someone knocked against the door. </p>
<p>“Yes?” Gabriella and Fabio said in unison. </p>
<p>“Can I come in? I need to ask Lovino something,” Antonio said from the other side. </p>
<p>“Sure,” Gabriella said with a smile but a frown on her face, the frown being mirrored on Lovino’s. </p>
<p>“Are you going to help me make dinner?” Antonio asked after he had opened the door. “You know, I’d do it all by myself, but,” he held his cheek with one hand and made a deeply hurt face – eyes closed, eyebrows raised and corners of his mouth dropped. “I don’t know if I can in my situation.”  </p>
<p>“Tu che pagliaccio, yeah, I’ll help,” Lovino said with a sigh and roll of his eyes. Antonio’s face lit up. Gabriella and Fabio snickered.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><em>"Tu che pagliaccio</em> - It's intended to say "You damn clown." Using che + mostly nouns can make the che mean "such" in Italian. I put a tu in front of it, so that it instead of "What a clown" may mean "You are such a clown." Now, this is a very experimental use of the Italian language since I've been only learning it for three years. Don't use fanfiction as your source for accurate linguistics, kids.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Sogni d'oro</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Night falls and it's time to leave the day's worries behind. Lovino still hasn't reconsidered his limits for spoiling Antonio.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Translation for Spanish and Italian bits at the end! It's welcome if you point out spelling, grammatical or formatting errors! If you like this work, leave kudos and/or a comment and/or share it! Have a nice day and enjoy the read!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOGIB04HfVw">Here's</a> another musical reccomendation, because I listened to it a lot while editing this little drabble. The music video looks pretty sweet, too!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sky was the deepest blue outside, the darkness only disturbed in the far distance by Madrid’s lights. The air conditioner whizzed instead of the mountains’ nightly sounds.</p>
<p>“So, you think you can sleep tonight?” Lovino asked Antonio as he reached across him to turn off the lights. His hands already on the switch and some of his weight resting on Antonio’s torso, he added: “Or is your <em>grave injury</em> pestering you too much?” He grinned at him.</p>
<p>Antonio smiled. “Mhm, I don’t know,” he said. He had one arm wrapped around Lovino and his hand rested on his side. Lovino turned off the lights and put his head, alongside with one hand, on Antonio’s chest. “Maybe … you could do something else for me?” His voice was no more than a whisper. He stroked a spot on Lovino’s waist with his thumb.</p>
<p>“Something that would distract me a little …” Antonio used his other hand to run his fingers through Lovino’s hair.</p>
<p>Lovino was having none of what Antonio was alluding to. Perhaps tomorrow night, but unless Antonio would either increase his sweet pleading or properly seduce him, he wasn’t going to budge.</p>
<p>“You already got me in your good arm! What more do you want?” He asked with his eyes closed and threw up his hand in a questioning gesture.</p>
<p>Antonio chuckled to himself. Lovino could feel the vibrations directly against his head. He kissed him on the hair. “Buenas noches, mi cielo.”</p>
<p>“Buenas noches, amore,” Lovino mumbled.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Again, no guarantee that I explain the Spanish correctly, since I do not speak the language. Mi sono molto dispiace, i miei lettori spagnoli! </p>
<p><em>Sogni d'oro</em> - "Sweet dreams." Literally translates to "Dreams of gold/Golden dreams."<br/><em>"Buenas noches, mi cielo."</em> - "Good night, my sweetheart." Cielo literally means "sky".<br/><em>"Buenas noches, amore."</em> - "Good night, love." Yes, amore is Italian, Spanish would be amor.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. A Normal Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lovino finds himself alone in bed and a note by Antonio in the kitchen.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's welcome if you point out spelling, grammatical or formatting errors! If you like this work, leave kudos and/or a comment and/or share it! Have a nice day and enjoy the read!</p><p>There is also a mention of another OC in here. <b>Francesco</b> is Feliciano's right hand, another friend to Lovino and quite the southern bastard like Lovi himself.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lovino woke up without Antonio next to him. The fact needed a few moments to settle in. At first, he didn’t think too much of it; Antonio had probably gotten up to go to the bathroom or to make breakfast. Lovino clutched pillow instead of his boyfriend, rolled over and closed his eyes again.</p><p>Time passed. He listened into the silence. The air conditioner whizzed. He didn’t hear anyone walking around. No sounds from the kitchen, none from the bathroom.</p><p>Lovino got up. It was seven a. m. and the sun was rising; at home it must’ve been already up. The first evening and morning in Spain were always jarring.</p><p>He went to open the window and stiff breeze greeted him. The air was warm and it would only get warmer. He decided to turn off the air conditioner and leave the window open while he went to the bathroom.</p><p>The big house was eerily silent. Lovino forgot about the open window he should’ve closed and began to wander around the house.</p><p>There was no Antonio in the kitchen either, but upon one of the counters laid a note.</p><p>“Out of the house!” it told him in Spanish. “Can you make dinner for us all tonight? Love Ya, my sweetheart!”</p><p>The corner’s of Lovino’s mouth twitched upwards as he read the note. Only after he had stared at it for a while, a frown began to creep onto his face.</p><p>“Dinner? What in the hell are you doing all day?” he asked himself into the silence. The same irritation and worry from before rose up in him.</p><p>Antonio had just gotten into a fight <em>yesterday.</em> Had he went and done it again today?</p><p>Not that Antonio’s business was any of his. There was a reason the note had been so vague and Lovino should know to respect these boundaries.</p><p>There were footsteps in the hallway and Lovino jerked. For a moment, his heart was in his mouth.</p><p>Gabriella walked into the kitchen and Lovino let out a deep sigh. She stopped in her tracks and startled herself.</p><p>“Good morning, Rella dearest,” he said with a smile and she smiled back.</p><p>“Good morning Lovino! Up so early?” she asked while she went to one of the kitchen cabinets.</p><p>“Of course, of course,” he said and put the note aside. He earnt a knowing smirk from her before she went to the sink and filled up the glass she had taken from the cabinet.</p><p>“What do you got there?” she asked, her eyes on the note and full with curiosity.</p><p>“Oh, just a note by Antonio, he must’ve left early for <em>something,</em>” Lovino said with a shrug, a dismissive shake of his hands and his eyes peering upwards.</p><p>She picked it up and squinted the next moment.</p><p>“What does it say?” she asked Lovino.</p><p>“That he’s gone for today and he’s asking me if I could make dinner later,” he explained.</p><p>“Ah, I see,” she said, put it down and took a sip of her water.</p><p>“Say, Gabriella, what would you say to some breakfast on the terrace?” he asked her and rested his chin on the back of his hand.</p><p>“That sounds lovely, Lovino,” she said and he turned his palm up.</p><p>“Well then, let me take care of that and be outside with Fabio in twenty minutes or so,” he said. He shrugged. “Ah, make it half an hour, nobody’s in a rush here.”</p><p>She kissed him on the cheek and he smiled proudly to himself. “Thank you, my dear.” She took another sip of water and was already on her way out when she turned around again. “Do you want me to help you?”</p><p>“Oh no Rella, dearest, it’s just making coffee and trying to find some sweet pastries somewhere in here, you go back to Fabio and enjoy the first rays of sun falling through the window,” he said. “Or whatever.”</p><p>Gabriella snorted at the ‘Or whatever.’ “Alright Lovino.”</p><p>Lovino rolled up the imaginary sleeves of his T-Shirts and began to make breakfast.  </p><p>He scoured the kitchen for anything to eat and cursed himself that he hadn’t gone shopping yesterday or asked someone to do it.</p><p>He settled for torrijas and grabbed some stale toast from the pantry.</p><p>When he went to throw away the toast’s wrapper and the other trash the morning had produced, he saw Antonio’s bandage in the bin. He could see Salomé’s, Gabriella’s and even Fabio’s name on it. He snorted and shook his head.</p><p>His mind was still with Antonio when he grabbed orange juice from the fridge. A memory flashed across his mind. He and Francesco sitting outside of their office in the city when it woke up in the sun’s first golden rays. They had limoncello for breakfast after they had a night like the morning Lovino supposed Antonio was having.</p><p>He shook his head and placed the juice on a tray before he turned on the coffee machine to make espresso.</p><p>He hadn’t shaken off the thoughts, but he managed to not let them consume him for the next few hours. He had breakfast and a short walk with the other two. There still wasn’t a Spaniard to be seen when they returned, but he discovered that he had left the window open and cursed himself as he slammed it shut. He read, listened to music and watched TV. It was a normal day like so many others.</p><p>Until his phone buzzed in the early afternoon and showed an unknown number with the Madrid area code. He frowned and considered to not take the call.</p><p>He reconsidered when he took into account that it could be Antonio who simply wanted to keep him off his personal phone’s call log for whatever reason.</p><p>“Pronto?” he asked.</p><p>“Hello, am I speaking with Lovino Vargas?” A woman asked in Spanish. Her voice was calm but his heart began to pound.</p><p>“Who’s there?” he asked.</p><p>“I am calling from the Hospital Clínico San Carlos. Three people have come in here for some emergency services and we’ve asked them to name a contact person –“</p>
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